Thread-waxing device for sewing-machines



A(N0 MOdGl- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. E. BERTRAND. THREAD WAXING DEVICE vFOR SEWING MACHINES. N0.. 603,359.

(No Model.) .2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' J. E. BERTRAND.

THRBADWAXING DEVICE PoR SEWING MACHINES. No. 603,359. A Patented May' 3, 1898.'

M l! if t Wines es: 1 lgzvenor.' Y l@ JoSephElLerband,

im by v UN- ITED i STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

JOSEPH E. BERTRAND, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BAY STATE SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

THREAD-WAXl-NG DEVICE FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersE Patent No. 603,359, dated May 3, 1898. Applicationliiled August 23, i892.. Serial No; 349,171. (No model.)

of Massachusetts, have invented certain new f proved waxing device.

and useful Improvements inThread-Waxin g Devices for Sewing-Machines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specicatiou.

My invention relatesY to thread-waxing dcvices for sewing-machines; and it consists in certain novel features of Y construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which4 will be readily understood -by reference to the description of the accompanying drawings and to the claims hereto appended and in which my invention is clearly pointed out.

Figure 1 ofthe drawings is a plan of myinn-- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; with a portion of the frame of a sewing-machine and1 of the supportingcolumn. Fi-g. 3 is asectional elevation looking toward theleft of Fig.2, the cutting-plane being on line 3 3 on- Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation looking toward the right of Fig. 2, the cutting-plane being the same as in Fig. 3. Figo is a sectional plan, the cutting-plane being on line 5 5 on Fig. 2. Fig.

6 is an inverted plan of the U -shaped threadguiding tube and its supporting-plate. Fig. 7 isa plan of the thread-stripping jaws detached from the machine; and Fig. 8 is an elevation of the cam andraportion of the 1ever for operating the 4pivoted gate, drawn tor a reducedscale. f g

. It has been found in practice that the wax in general use for waxing the thread used in sewing-machines for operatingupon leather Work becomes very much deteriorated by constant'heatingrand reheating, and as a conse-y quence -frequentcleaning ofthe wax-pot becomes necessaryin usingthe Wax-pot in general use, thereby causing a material loss of It has also been found that all such waX contains more or less water, which when` thewax is melted rises above and iioats upon the top of the wax, and -that if thethread be drawn through the water before reaching the waX it will be imperfectly waxed, to the material detriment of .the work sewed with said thread.

The object of my invention is to obviate Y i these objections,.and to that end I construct fmywaxing device as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichi A is a portion of the frame of a sewing-machine head mounted upon a column made in vtwo parts B and B', telescopically adjustable one Within the other in a well-known manner.

C is a waX-pothaving formed integral therewith thebrackets C and C2, arranged upon opposite sides thereof, as shown in Fig. 2. The bracket C is firmly bolted to the parts B' of the column, and to the bracket C2 is bolted the wax-pot D, provided at its lower @end and in the side thereof toward the pot C with the small discharge-oriice a for the paslsageof the wax melted in the pot D to the pot C.

The pot D has pivoted thereto the valve or -gate E, constructed and arranged to alternately open and close said orice a, said gate being moved about its pivot vfor such purpose by the lever F,fu lcrumed upon the frame A and v ibrated by a path-cam G, mounted upon the camshaft.vv of4 the sewing-machine, as shown in Fig. 8, the long arm of said lever F being connected by the jointed rod H to the movable end of the gate E, as shown in Figs. 2 and et.' The pot ,C also has formed integral therewith and roverhanging its chamber the tubular hub C3, upon the top of which are secured the stripping-jaws o b', pivoted togetherkat c, the jaw h'being held in contact with the jaw b by theV spring d until forced away therefrom bytheset-screw e. The inner or contiguousfaces of the jaws b b have formed, therein semicircular vertical grooves, which Awhen saidA jaws are in contact form together a circular orifice f of'a diameter corresponding tothe smallest thread to be used, by means lof whichl the surplus wax taken up by the thread is stripped off therefrom, as the thread is drawn up through the same by the operation of thethread-pull-off mechanism of the sewing-machine. By operating the setscreW e to move the movable end of the jaw b' away from the fixed jaw b the oriIce f or the grooves which form said orifice are adapted to strip a thread of a larger size.

To the top edge of the pot C is secured the plate I, which is bent so as to pass beneath the hub C3 and has set therein the two ends IOO of the U-shaped tube J, the loop of which is pendent therefrom and extends nearly to the bottom of said pot and has the under side of the tube at the bend of the loop cut away to permit the wax to come in contact with the thread r, which passes from the bobbin down the left-hand branch of the U-tube J, as seen in Fig. 3, around the semicircular bend of said tube, up the right-hand branch between the st-ripper jaws, thence around the tensionwheel K, over the guide-sheave L, and thence to the pull-off mechanism. (Not shown.)

The wax in the pot C is not allowed to fall below the point h on the tube J, so that any water iloatin g upon the top of the melted wax will not come in contact with the thread.

The wax-pot C has a thick bottom, in which is formed the steam-passage i, in each end of which is screwed a pipe t', connecting it with the valves L and L', said valve-casings being respectively connected to the Ts M and M'. The T ill is connected at one end by the pipe j to a pipe set in the bracket C' and at its other end by the pipej' to a passage through the bracket C2, and the T M' is connected at one end by the pipe 7a to the pipe set in the bracket C' and at its other end by the pipe 7e' to the outer end ot the bracket N, which is bolted upon the bracket C' and supports the spindle l', upon which the tension-wheel K is mounted. This bracket N has a steam-passage m (shown in dotted lines in Figs. l and 2) formed therein, with the inner end of which the steam-supply pipe n communicates, as shown in Figs. l and 2. The end of the passage m' through the bracket C2 (indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l) opposite to the pipej' is connected by the pipe o to the exhaust-pipe o', all as shown in Figs. l and 2.

The thread-tension device, in part illustrated in the drawings, forms the subjectmatter of another application of mine for a patent for a sewing-machine,filed June 8,1897, and serially numbered 639,825, and therefore need not be further described here.`

By the use of the valves L and L' and the arrangement of steam-pipes herein described lthe wax in the pot C may be kept at the desired temperature with very little trouble.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The pot D is filled with wax, and a small quantity is placed in the pot C. The valves L and L' are both opened. Steam is admitted to the pipe n, whence it passes through the passage m, pipe la', T M', valve L', passage t', valve L, T M, pipe j', passage m', and pipe o and is discharged through the pipe 0', the steam at the same time illing the pipes 7a and j. Then the wax in the pot C is melted and heated to the desired temperature, the valves L and L' are closed, when the circulation of the steam will be from the pipe 7.3' through the T M', the pipes 7c and j, the T M, the pipe j', the passage m', the pipe o, and is discharged, as before, through the pipe o'. The steam passing through the passage m' in the bracket CL is sufficient to melt only a small portion of the wax in the pot D, while the heat from the steam in said passage and passing through the bracket C' is sufficient to maintain the wax in the pot C at the desired temperature when it has been brought to said temperature by the passage of the steam through the passage /I in the bottom of the pot C, or if such outside circulation should at any time be found insufficient the valves L and L' may be opened to a greater or less extent, as may be required, to perfectly regulate the heat applied to the pot C. Vhen the sewing-machine to which the waxing device is attached is in operation, the action of the cam G upon the short arm of the lever F causes the gate E to be lifted so as to uncover the orifice d at each revolution of the cam-shaft and keep said orifice uncovered a sufficient length of time to permit a given quantity ot the melted wax in the bottom of the pot D to be discharged into the pot C, and then said orifice is closed by the downward movement of the gate E.

The bottom portion of the pot D is made of thick cast metal, but the main body of the barrel thereof is made of thin metal tubing, whereby the liability of sufficient heat being transmitted from the bracket C2 to the upper portion of said pot to melt the wax is reduced to the minimum.

The upper end of the rod ll has a screwthread formed thereon and is connected to the swiveling ear 7L', set in the end of the long arm of the lever F by means of the nuts 71,2 and 71,', in such a manner that the upward movement of the gate E may be Varied so as to open or uncover the whole or only apart of the orifice cto regulate the flow of wax from the pot D.

The valve G is so set and timed that the orifice a will be closed whenever the machine is stopped for removing the work sowed and inserting other work to be sewed, thereby preventing wax being discharged from the pot D when no work is being done.

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination in a thread-waxingdevice of two open-topped wax pots or receptacles arranged with their axes in different vertical planes, and with the bottom of one pot above the top of the other, the more elevated of said receptacles being provided near its bottom with a lateral discharge-orifice through which wax melted in said receptacle may be discharged into said lower receptacle; means for applying a limited amount of heat to said upper receptacle to melt the lower portion of the wax contained therein without melting the bulk thereof, means for applying sufficient heat to said lower wax-pot to maintain the wax contained therein at the desired working temperature and means for intermittently and automatically opening and closing said discharge-orice.

2. The combination in a thread-waxing device of two wax pot-s or receptacles located at IIO having-open upper ends; means for intermittently opening and closing said dischargeorifice automatically; means for conducting the thread to be waxed into and out of the wax in said lower receptacle through its open end; and means for applying steam heat to both of said receptacles, and regulating the same, whereby a greater degree of heat is applied to the lower receptacle than to the upper.

3. In a thread-waxing device the combination of two wax-pots located at different levels and with their axes in diiierent vertical planes, the more elevated of said pots being provided with a lateral discharge-orifice near its bottom and on its sideV toward the lower pot; a pivoted and vertically-movable gate for opening and closing said orifice; a pivoted lever; a cam for vibrating said lever; and a rod or link connecting said lever tothe free or movable end of said gate.

4. In a thread-waxing device the combination ofthe wax-pot C provided with the steampassage 'L' through its bottom and having the brackets C and C2 formed integral therewith and each provided with steam-passages therethrough; the pot D mounted upon the bracket C2 and provided with the discharge-orice a; the vertically-vibratinggate E the steampipes n, m, la', 7c, j, j', o, and o the Ts M and M and the valves L and L all constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described.A

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 20th day oi' August, A. D. 1897.

JOSEPH E. BERTRAND.

Witnesses:

N. C. LOMBARD, J. L. OHOATE. 

